Squirt's Birthday

 

So for those of you who don't know me very well, I have an (perhaps unhealthy) obsession with my dog, Squirt.  Don't get me wrong, I don't dress him up in outfits, wait... scratch that...

Ok, so maybe I made him wear that for like an hour, but it was Halloween and he was only mostly miserable.  What I'm trying to say is that besides a certain someone, he's the love of my life and I'd do anything for him.  That anything just happens to include baking...  Today is Squirt's 2nd birthday!  It's hard to believe I got him over a year and a half ago because I can't imagine my life without him. 

I mean really, who couldn't love this dog??

So, in honor of Mr. Squirt's 2nd birthday I made him a puppy birthday cake. It's completely natural and doggy safe, so no worries my fellow canine lovers!  This is what the cake looked like fresh from the oven:

And of course we need a top shot:

 

Once it had cooled I whipped up a puppy friendly "icing" and decorated the cake with peanut butter:

Anyone for an extreme close up?

 Here's the recipe for anyone who is interested:

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake

1 c unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 c natural peanut butter
1/4 c oil
1/3 c honey
1 c shredded carrot
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 6" round pan (an 8" will work if that's what you have).  Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes (less if you're using the larger pan).

"Icing" (I made this up with what I happened to have in my fridge at the moment, so feel free to improvise!)

1/3 c low fat cottage cheese, room temperature
1/4 c low fat cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp honey

Blend the bajeezus out of this until it's as smooth as you can get it.  Mine was still a little lumpy, but let's be honest, this is for a dog and he's not too concerned with presentation.

Happy birthday to my favorite leggy blond!